(Institute for Contemporary Affairs/Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Zvi Mazel - The basic ideology of political Islam - which was adopted later by all radical groups - finds its origin within Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood. During the 1940s the Brotherhood lead a campaign of violence and assassinations that eventually brought about the Free Officers revolution in 1952. The Brotherhood tried to kill Nasser in 1954 but failed. Nasser declared the organization illegal and arrested 60,000 people, condemning its leaders to death. Sadat released the members of the Muslim Brotherhood in 1971, believing he needed them to fight the remnants of the Nasser era. An Egyptian jihad group assassinated Sadat in October 1981. In 1995 al-Gamaa al-Islamiya tried to kill Mubarak in Addis Ababa. The bombings at Sinai resorts in October 2004 reveal that the disciples of radical Islam are still active in Egypt. The writer is a former Israeli Ambassador to Egypt and Sweden.
2005-02-16 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive